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May’s force be with her

AFTER a brief, farcical contest for the keys to 10 Downing Street, we learn that Theresa May is to be the UK’s new prime minister. She got the job by default, most of her would-be rivals seemingly scared off by the challenge of pleasing those who voted to leave the European Union, while securing limits on free movement of EU citizens into the UK and retaining access to the single market.

May is made of sterner stuff. As home secretary, she ignored her own advisers to push through a drug law that bans almost anything that could alter mental states. That is meaningless, since it could include everything from nutmeg to flowers, but not alkyl nitrites, aka poppers. Alcohol and nicotine are, of course, exempt.

And as she was making her bid for PM, her Investigatory Powers bill was receiving its final reading in the House of Commons. It now seems likely to pass, despite being both unprecedentedly intrusive and calling, nonsensically, for online encryption that is secure yet also breakable on demand.

Such previous form, along with May’s sketchy voting record on the environment and public health, is worrying. But let’s look on the bright side: a proven ability to turn the impossible into law may prove just the trick when it comes to the Brexit trilemma.

This article appeared in print under the headline “May’s force be with her”